The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant mustard is to examine the USDA zone info for Evanston.

Planting Calendar for Mustard

Frost tolerance for mustard:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since mustard require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mustard in Evanston is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mustard and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your mustard may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your mustard indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Evanston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Evanston is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Evanston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your mustard if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Evanston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Evanston.